Five Times
by romancing-the-moon
Summary: The five times Peter Bishop proposed to Olivia Dunham and the one time she said yes.  Peter/Olivia; AU - Yellow Verse.


**Yellow Verse**

**2011**

He failed miserably. But that was almost to be expected - he never finished anything in his life, always abandoning it halfway though, forgetting about the people who depended upon him and his actions. Why should this time be different from any other? He buried his head in his hands and let the tears flow freely from his eyes, blurring his vision as they dropped one by one on his shoes. He owed her an apology, and he did try, but it wasn't enough, and now she was gone. They were both gone and he was left weeping in a garden.

/

She ventured to the Bishop's house, bottle of whisky in hand and a mended heart. Her feelings were on the rise: she couldn't get him out of her mind and even though that made her weep before, somewhere along the line, she changed her mind. Peter was all she thought about, he was the only thing that made her smile and Olivia was serious when she said that Peter belonged with her. It was the memories of him that helped pull her back from the other side. Knocking at his door, she wasn't surprised when Peter invited her in, or when they fell into each other, lips on lips, hands on soft bodies, into his bed.

/

Their first date wasn't traditional by any established means, but given their history together, given the unpleasantness the two faced day in and day out, they hardly needed a darkened theater or a quiet restaurant to get to know each other.

Olivia woke up beside Peter completely naked and wrapped up in several blankets that twisted around her like an awkward cocoon. She relaxed against the pillows and blinked away the remaining sleep as Peter rolled over and slid his hands through the blankets in search of Olivia, but was met with a wall of blankets that prevented him from searching any further. Olivia laughed as Peter punched the obstructing fabric and she kicked the blankets off her body, giving Peter full and unquestionable access to her body.

"Hey," he said, rubbing his nose against hers.

"Morning," she answered; he could feel her smile when she kissed him. He could still taste last night's whisky and he licked her bottom lip with the tip of his tongue.

"You know what the best part of waking up with you is?" he asked.

"What?" Olivia asked with no hesitation. Her smile faded into a curious smirk and she squinted at him, even though he wasn't far from her at all.

"I already know what kind of coffee you drink," Peter said smartly, rather proud of himself.

"Oh," Olivia said and a full smile stretched across her delicate face. "I suppose that would save time."

"Not to mention the conversations that Walter tries to have with them."

Olivia was slightly taken aback and she quickly adverted her eyes from Peter's gaze; her smile faded and Peter immediately regretted what he said.

"Olivia," he said quickly, watching her eyes and pulling her closer to him, even though she resisted. "Hey, that's not what I meant -"

Olivia looked at him then and something changed - he could see it in her eyes - where there was anger, there was now something else... he didn't want to label it but it felt warm and safe and he realized suddenly that she wasn't mad at all.

"Peter, of course that's what you meant," Olivia sounded slightly exasperated and Peter had a sudden look of confusion on his face. "Of course you've had other women here. Do you think that I lived like a nun before you?" Olivia smiled and kissed Peter's confusion away. "Besides, the important thing is that we're together now."

A wide smiled returned to Peter's face, stretching the corners of his mouth upright, and he pressed her against his chest tightly, happy that she followed his directions willingly.

"So, no regrets?"

Olivia laughed and the sound filled Peter with a joy he never felt before. "No, no regrets."

**2012**

He had everything planned out: grand and beautiful with all of the cliche things that girls in the world want when someone proposes, there was no chance that she'd ever say no, except that she did. Not in so many words but the pained look on her face spoke volumes as she sucked in a deep breath and bit down on her bottom lip, looking at every direction but his. His heart sank deep into his stomach and slowly he put the ring back in its box and the box back into his pocket. He rose to his feet, fighting back tears.

"I'm sorry Peter."

He shook his head and his voice cracked when he said "It's fine".

She didn't believe him any more than he believed himself and when she tried to bring it up three days later, he smiled with that goofy, boyish grin that she fell in love with, silencing her with a kiss.

"It's alright, Olivia. Really, it is."

She still didn't believe him but he was starting to convince her and somehow she knew that he wasn't finished asking her.

**2013**

Olivia expected Peter's proposal to keep popping up, that his feelings never changed and that he honestly wanted her as his wife, but there was something nibbling in the back of her head that kept her from saying yes.

"Things aren't just going to be suddenly better if we're married."

Peter shrugged and shot his mouth off before thinking, letting anger and frustration get the best of him. "It can't get much worse."

He had meant it as a joke but the look on Olivia's face meant that she didn't take it that way. She looked up at him with sad green eyes and her chin began to tremble.

"What if it does?" she asked with a voice so soft, he barely heard her.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, Peter," Olivia gasped. Her voice choked with tears and her head fell on to his chest. Her shoulders shook and he could feel her tears seeping through his shirt. She didn't say anything else and it was all he could do to keep himself from falling into despair with her. He didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. Instead, he combed his fingers through her hair, wishing that he could take her pain away, that he could protect her from all of the evils that they faced together on a daily basis. But he couldn't - all he could do was hold her while she cried.

**2014**

Olivia was like a stone and Peter was like water - eventually he would wear her down. She was surrounded by a moat, these protective walls made out of stone. He couldn't get through, she wouldn't let him in, but he refused to go anywhere, do anything, except protect her from afar, for one day, he knew, that eventually, she would let him in.

**2015**

She still had reservations about actually marrying him, but he thought that things might have been turning around when Olivia suggested that they move in together. Not into her apartment or into the Bishop's old house, but into a place of their own, somewhere they could be together, after a long day's night, and he could make her breakfast, lunch and dinner.

This particular dinner began like all the others: Olivia walked into their house, following the smell of something delicious into the kitchen, only to find Peter covered in meat sauce and swearing at the stove top.

"Did the burner do something bad to you?" she asked, making him jump and look embarrassed. as she waltzed over to him, scraping her finger down his face and licking the sauce off of her finger, smirking the whole time.

He was leaning against the counter in the kitchen trying to look relaxed and failing miserably. Olivia smirked and looked down at the floor. She looked back up at Peter and crossed her arms over her chest. He noticed the movement and burst into a smile - not one out of joy, but one that protected himself from all the world's disappointments.

"What?" he asked her.

Olivia shrugged but her smirk didn't fall and she kept her arms where they were. "Nothing."

"Okay," he said slowly, still watching her. He turned his attention then to what was left of their dinner. "You ready to eat?"

"Yeah," she said, but Olivia didn't move. She had a sudden realization, there in their kitchen, watching him try to clean meat sauce off of the countertop and shirt with the same dirty rag: _That's the guy I'm going to marry_.

**2016**

Peter asked Olivia five times, each time knowing that she would say no but she surprised him when she finally said yes.

"You look shocked," Olivia said smiling, amused by Peter's reaction, who stood blinking rapidly at her.

"Reasonably so, I hope," he said when he could finally speak again.

Olivia laughed and threw her arms around his neck. He pulled her in close and sealed her promise with a kiss that deepened until hands were flying and their clothing hit the floor and they were laying together naked in his bed.

/

Simple and without much public celebration, they were wed, and that night, they went back to their apartment, their new home together as husband and wife. Peter closed his eyes as he drew her near, feeling her weight press into him. His breath caught in his throat and for a moment, just held Olivia tightly in his arms. And despite of all the stresses they had in their lives, all of the absurdities and painful events that surrounded them, they were happy together.


End file.
